Way to go Trev!

MLB DRAFT: Oregon State OF Trevor Larnach a Potential 1st-Round Pick

Oregon State has been shoving out MLB players for a while now and Beavers players litter the MLB Draft class of 2018. The talk entering the season was second baseman Nick Madrigal, and for good reason. But right fielder Trevor Larnach is a potential 1st-round pick in his own right.

Larnach (pronounced Lar-nick) stands out for his strength, bat control, strike zone judgment and what all of the above turns into on the baseball field. He entered play this weekend batting .362/.483/.768 with seven homers and seven doubles. He owns more than half the Beavers long balls.

The left-handed batter is patient and will take his walks, uses most of the field with extra-base pop and his plus bat speed is starting to turn into the kind of game power that plays with impact in Major League Baseball.

He swings and misses a bit too much at this stage, suggesting he’s not a quick-study the way former OSU star Michael Conforto was, but there’s a lot to like in Larnach’s game.

“A little, a little bit,” said one west coast crosschecker when askd about Larnach developing a better ability to generate leverage and loft, turning screaming line drives into deep fly balls, better known as home runs. “There’s nothing flawed in that swing to tell me he’s going to get to pro ball and struggle. He’s getting it.”

SCOUTING LARNACH’S TOOLS

TOOL

PRESENT

FUTURE

HIT

40

45

POWER

50

60

FIELD

55

55

RUN

50

50

THROW

60

60

Larnach employs a short load with his hands, keeping him short to the pitch and able to hang with good velocity. He’s balanced and his head stays on the ball through contact.

He’s not without weaknesses, which likely keep him from the Top 18-20 picks, and may keep him out of Round 1 when all is said and done.

“I’d like to see him stay on the left-handed breaking stuff longer,” said a West Coast Scouting Supervisor from an AL Central club who has seen Larnach for two-plus years. “He’s shown some issues versus angles and some lefties with sweeping offspeed stuff. That’s something he will have to work on, get better at or those guys will kill him.”

Larnach also can get too patient at times, taking a few more called third strikes than scouts would like to see. But he’s comfortable hitting in pitcher’s counts and rarely is caught on his front foot.
The college hitters in this class are solid, yet unspectacular, led by Duke OF Griffin Conine, Oklahoma OF Steele Walker, Missouri State SS Jeremy Eierman, South Alabama CF Travis Swaggerty (scouting report), Kentucky OF Tristan Pompey and Wichita State 3B Alec Bohm and OF Greyson Janista. Larnach can compete with all of them as a prospect.

While he’s more likely a second-round pick, one scouting director suggested big performances by Larnach versus the top arms left on the schedule — Kris Bubic, Tristan Beck, Matt Mercer, Cody Deason — can convince a club take him in the mid-to-late 20s in a draft thin on college hitters.

“Shout out to Adam, Bruce and Tarp for the countless hours they spent on the field with Trevor over the years.”